Hi everyone,
I just move to the US, and I’m not quite familiar with the law here. Now iPhone 17 has released, and I’m planning to get one. Now comes the question. I know Delaware is a tax free state, so I don’t need to pay sales tax if I buy one at an Apple Store there. But since I live in PA, what will happen if I bring the iPhone back to PA?
Live in PA, want to buy an iPhone in Delaware
byu/clean-machine-6 intax
Posted by clean-machine-6
6 Comments
Many/most states that have both income tax & sales tax have what’s called “use tax”, which is essentially “sales tax for stuff you bought in no-sales-tax states but used in your home state”. You generally report that on your state income tax return.
I don’t know off hand if PA has that or if it works that way; I just know that’s typical.
You are required to report things you bought out of state and pay the sales tax.
Literally nobody actually does this.
As a new resident of the US, I’d definitely recommend doing this by the book and not trying to get away with not paying tax in your home state.
You’d file and pay PA use tax. It’s going to be the same rate as what the sales tax would have been:
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/sales-use-and-hotel-occupancy-tax/use-tax/use-tax-for-individuals
Lived in both states. When I lived in PA it was near the DE border. PA is very aggressive with trying to collect tax on people who go off to Delaware to buy things. or any state for that matter. What will happen is this: most likely nothing. Unless there is some way that PA gets transaction records and then they will just send you a bill in the mail for the tax. Which you can fight.
All the states surrounding Delaware get into fights over the no sales tax thing. Furniture and electronics. Maryland actually had big fight over it and now furniture dealers have to charge Maryland residents sales tax. Even if the store does not deliver into Maryland.
PA had this fight with Delaware several times. Not sure where things are at right now with it. But PA always had absurd logic they tried to use.
As a former resident of PA, I did the math and bought at least two MacBooks online with instore pickup in DE. Apple charges taxes with instore pickup based on the location. Tax savings was greater than time+gas expense.
That Apple Store location is in the largest and possibly only mall in DE by the way, so make sure you leave yourself time to check it out for anything else you might be interested in.